As Yulia spoke a few words to Sana, it looked like she was trying to hold back something.

At the same exact time, I got a message from Hyunda and the context of it was one simple certain order.

Contrasting the previous order from him, which was to be at the external block near block D a while ago and try to merge with a conversation with Sana successfully, this time around, the target of the conversation would change.

Therefore, before Yulia and Sana could continue their dialogue, I stepped up and took leadership in this conversation just by slightly directing myself to Yulia.

However, as I walked to her, I didn't just walk to her without doing anything. No. To her surprise, her eyes widen by this sudden movement as we grabbed the attention of all the students who were in the queues, respectively.

After I submerged my own lips onto her's through a forceful manner, I shortly disconnected them and spoke to Yulia, who was somewhat dumbfounded by my sudden action. As for Sana, she was probably surprised by this surprising initiative of mine.

"I missed you."

The same scent as always yet the magic is never lackluster as her apple-like scent spread through my nostrils with great ease and furthermore, her indecision on what words to say after my kiss made her the more attractive at the moment.

Her soft lips were enough to overpower any sort of composure inserted yet I was lucky enough to be able to have that bliss of experience all to myself.

"I missed you too..."

Our sights intertwined and simultaneously, a genuine attraction was formed filled with simplicity.

Perhaps for the first time ever, did I not feel like this was totally fake, despite being one of the tasks from Hyunda in the message from a while ago.

"Look at you two going. Making everyone here witness your romance. Whew. Way to go."

With a smug grin on her face, Sana applauded us with a small ovation by herself as the glances from the other students had only gotten stronger, however, I did not let that intimidate me in the slightest as I maintained a stern posture despite the current situation.

Nevertheless, as Yulia and I kept looking at each other while not exactly knowing what to say to each other next, the atmosphere got somewhat awkward... and sincerely, I wasn't liking it one bit.

Because what's currently happening is beyond my comprehension. I do not know the next step here...

"....Shall we... go somewhere...? I want to talk to you in private. I have something important to say..."

"Y-Yeah, sure..."

Awkwardly, I answered back shily while inevitably advertising my gaze to the ceiling of the current floor we were in...

Oh man, just... What the hell is this... I'm supposed not to feel a thing for her yet why is it that now when I look at Yulia I feel like that denial just doesn't exist anymore...? It actually makes me want to suddenly embrace a false side of reality where I actually love her and follow through with that idea...

Because as it stands, lately, we have been... I know it's wrong because she deserves better, but what if...

"Oi, you spineless dickhead! Don't space out on Yulia like that! She's talking to you!"

For certain, I was too busy spacing out to notice that Sana had gotten behind me and delivered a small light kick to my left leg, which was enough to bring me back and confront to Yulia.

"Erm! Sorry, let's go, Yulia?"

"Yeah!"

Leaving Sana behind, Yulia and I went somewhere else. Strictly speaking, while going to the location that Yulia had in mind, we awkwardly did not exchange a single trade of words, out of sheer embarrassment.

9 am.

Still not talking to each other, we entered the abandoned classroom that we usually go to, and just like the rest of the time, no one was around, just the two of us.

We were already seated next to each other yet for some reason, I was not courageous enough to break the ice. Hyunda gave me two orders overall and I already followed the first one which was to kiss Yulia upon the encounter, but still...

It's hard to shake this new sensation off...

"....Hey..."

By contrast to my superficial newly cowardice, Yulia took the chance and looked at me while still mildly embarrassed.

At that crisp moment, I was consumed and taken aback as her words grew a powerful impact on me the moment she spoke her words further.

"I did mention that I had something important to say and I... really, but really need to say it. To you. Only. So... Listen carefully, because I don't think that I can touch this subject another time, so to speak. Now is the time."

While saying those weak-toned words that seemed to be stuck on her throat and that had almost little to no life in them, Yulia took a soft hold of my right hand and intertwined our fingers together thus uniting them.

As for me, I stopped being embarrassed, and respectfully nodded as I allowed her to speak subsequently.

However, despite that, she looked down for a bit, almost as if indecisive and unsure of whether or not she should tell me what's on her mind, which forced me to speak up.

"...If it's hard for you to say, then... Even though I might not be able to hear it another time, as you said, if you feel like it's too hard, then don't force yourself... I mean this... You seem frightened by something and..."

Weirdly, unable to conclude my own words, I also looked back on the cold ground while scratching the back of my head.

Vastly feeling unsure about what else to say, I started feeling a dreadful sensation of incompetence as I couldn't give Yulia the right words that she needed in order for her to regain her confident posture.

"...You're different today..."

"...I am?"

Uncertain why Yulia had said that, I elevated my head a little bit to meet her eager eyes that were filled with wonder and spontaneity.

Her words now, although still somewhat fragile and weak, had more valor to it, as a small smile was starting to appear in the corner of her luscious lips.

"Yes... You... If I'm being honest, it always felt like you were hiding something from me, something that prevented you from totally being absorbed into the atmosphere that we were supposed to be mutually in, but... This time, it feels like you are completely into it. You are being truthful now..."

I'm... being truthful...?

Is that why I'm feeling this sudden sensation of uncertainty and doubt? Is that why I'm starting to have strange thoughts regarding my posterior fake actions whenever I was around you, Yulia?

"I don't know, Yulia. I have never felt this way. What is this called?"

"I also don't know, but... Maybe isn't this something that we have to find together?"

"..."

Guilty of my actions recently, I didn't reply to her.

Instead, I submerged into negative thoughts of guilt as I thought about all the times that I lied to her just to avoid her. Yet, why? Despite the fact that I previously found her annoying to be around, why...

Why do I do not mind that anymore?

"Mhm! Welp, I got my mental strength back! I'm feeling completely alive now! Okay, so, truth to be told, I have been hiding something as of late and that is... I've been feeling quite down. My self-esteem, has, unfortunately, been somewhat toyed with and I am trying to tell myself that it's nothing much, but... That's just not true. And I don't really like to lie to myself in order to escape my problems, so... I figured I would share that with you and, something else if you don't mind."

Toyed?

"Wait. You said that your self-esteem has been toyed with. By what? Or who? Tell me. I want to know."

Is that why you have been looking down thus far? Because you are feeling a sensation of dread caused by something that I don't know or rather, by someone who I don't know?

"Um, thanks for caring, but, it's nothing mu---"

"Yulia, you need to tell me. It's not alright for you to feel this way. I will fix this."

This is also not the first time this has happened. At this exact same place, you said similar words, which, unfortunately, to my utter dislike, are slipping my current mind yet the fact still remains.

You are feeling bad and that's not alright.

"Ah, it's really so... Nevermind that. I know that you would try your best and that you would most likely succeed but no one else fixes my own problems but myself. They are my problems, Daniel. I may love you and you are without a doubt my most important person, but that will not change."

"...I see... But, I will not overlook this again. If I ever witness you feeling down like this again, you will have to speak to me about it and tell me the source of that sadness. Promise me that!"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

I don't like this, not at all. For the second time...

If it happens again, then I will not let this slide.

And even though you are smiling now, just the simple fact that something else is drowning that smile of yours down worries me deep down. As I look at you, you may think that you have to bear all your problems but... as of now, I want to be part of that entirety of yours that solves the problems that you struggle with, Yulia.

"Alright! But, listen to me now. I have decided that I will tell you what I have done. Because I am trusting you with this information out of my will. I want to believe you and this is by far the only way I know how to do so. By telling you my biggest secret yet. So, bear with me for a while, alright?"

"Alright..."

Without a doubt, it wasn't within my expectations that Yulia would come to terms with this decision nor did I see this brilliant resolution of hers.

However, given that this is very important to her, I firmly further intertwined our connected twined fingers and strengthened the grip of our mutual clasp.

Thus, ultimately, after taking a deep breath, Yulia looked ready to speak.

"I've... not been quite well ever since my grandma died and when I suddenly moved here, some things just weren't the same. I had a hard time breaking the language barrier and... as obvious as it may be, there were a few problems. In my middle school, the fact that I hadn't fully learned how to speak properly and only knew how to fluently speak Spanish made me be vulnerable to those that just... saw me as someone incompetent, and therefore I was bullied... It went somewhat further than that, but that's beside the point... A-Anyway... Things got progressively worse as my mother at that time was in the middle of a relationship and her partner had begun to cheat on her. So, I had hit a pretty hard point in life. Nothing was going correct and I thought that I was simply destined to suffer some sort of cursed life. My mother kept on doing the same mistake, chasing man after man while ultimately being cheated on. My bullying also didn't stop as my understanding of the language was getting better yet that didn't make much of a difference because that was simply an excuse to bully me at that point and---"

.....!!!!

"D-Daniel, you're hurting my hand..."

"Sorry, go on."

"You don't have to be mad... That was all my fault. If I had known preemptively, then...---"

"No, it's not your fault. You deserved to be comprehended yet your surroundings were too fucking incompetent to know how to handle your case and just mocked you for the sake of it. Don't say that it was your fault, Yulia. It wasn't. Don't blame yourself."

Feeling further guilt and a burning sensation of rage, I started to grit my teeth as I couldn't calm myself from feeling angry at this.

...I never knew... All this time, just what the hell have I...!!

"Well... Daniel, I did attempt to solve my problems. One night, I... well... Remember how I said that I wanted you to come with me and meet my parents...?"

"Yeah... What of it, though?"

Perhaps unsure how to say her next words properly, Yulia closed her eyes and created a bright sad smile as she spoke words that I was never expecting to come out of her mouth.

"...That was a lie. The truth is... My father is still somewhere in this world and with the details that I have told you thus far... it should be a no brainer that using 'my parents' was obviously false because there was only my mother."

......

"...Was...?"

As I asked that, I witnessed that bright smile slowly vanish from the surface of her face and suddenly, small tears started to leak out of the corner of her eyes, as Yulia attempted to not open them yet still couldn't refuse to, ultimately.

"...One day, just like many, I did arrive home. I never really allowed myself to be brought down because in the end... my mother was still a great source of my strength. If she was around, at the end of the day, I could always come back to her arms and cry. She held on to a lot of pain and was feeling quite lonely due to the circumstances she was facing. However, one day... She decided to consume too much medication and had an overdose..."

"..."

Unable to react, I kept my silence yet at that exact same time, I felt a gigantic sensation of sadness that came directly from Yulia and the tears that were starting to overrun her face.

I want to hug her right now and let her cry on my chest but I didn't do that because she wasn't done talking and I know for a fact that this is hard for her, which is why I'll allow her to let it all out while mutually respecting and admiring Yulia's decision to do so.

"...Naturally, I didn't receive that event too well. I... actually thought of just ending it all at that time. But, a part of me just didn't quite accept that. Which was why... In a feat of rage and sadness, I decided that my feelings didn't deserve to be that badly treated... I could comprehend my father and even my own situation was fine to me in the end. However, my mother...? That was... unbearable. Perhaps I got addicted to some sort of sadness, but I had to discard it because it was illogical and it wasn't starting to make sense. Always at the hands of others did my mother have to feel that way! In a way that made her feel like she was useless and not worth anything! And I didn't want to feel that way too! That thought was just too much... So... in the end, when I thought that I couldn't lose anything else, I exacted revenge on the ones that created pain to me."

With each word she spoke, the intensity only grew stronger and stronger as the previous tense sadness transformed into a glacial chilling rhapsody of cold-hearted words.

"I did say that I wasn't involved in what I did, right? Sorry, I lied about that. I did do the crimes directly, the source of my anger was them... The ones that had bullied me. Thus, one day, upon arriving at my school, in the morning, I had secretly spread a course of gasoline throughout the whole perimeter and when all classes started, I lighted everything on fire, ultimately killing every single person in the school. However, I didn't stop there. I tracked down every man that had cheated on my mother and did the same as I did to my fellow classmates at the time. Well... You know the rest. I got caught in the process, inevitably, and out of a pure miracle, I got sent here instead of going to somewhere else." 

Given that Yulia started to wipe her tears with her blazer's sleeve, she looked like she was ready to finish the confession yet that wasn't the case completely, as she said some additional words while not completely looking profoundly sad anymore, just mildly depressed with a small smile lying on her beautiful face.

"The conclusion that I want you to take here is... I'm a bad person. I acted out of emotion but that still doesn't mean that what I did is justified. Initially, even though this program was just a way for me to not get sent to prison or just executed, as the old consequence goes... I didn't really care about that. Often, did I actually think about ending it all. It was starting to seem so meaningless. No friends. No one to talk to. Until... Until out of pure chance, I got paired up with you in the previous exam and I then... unknowingly... started to develop feelings for you. Ah... I... wasn't ever gonna tell you how I felt. I was afraid that I would turn out like my mother in that aspect. And I just couldn't bear a single thought of that. Far too unbearable. However, you... when you confessed to me, I... felt far too happy to come to my senses and reject you out of fear. And ---- W-Wait, why are you....!?"

"Yulia, I..."

"Wait, don't cry... This was all in the past and that doesn't matter now so... Don't cry, Daniel. I-I, might not be able to hold back quite well, you... know?"

I've never been open about my natural feelings as I am completely horrible at self-expression yet for the first time in my entire life, genuine tears, the fragrance of my sadness and the substance of my bitter state of being that I currently am feeling like, came out, as I am breaking down in front of Yulia, who is also starting to cry a bit.

However...!

I just... should be honest about this.

Thus, I wiped my tears and I talked with supreme confidence back to her.

"Yulia! I... haven't told you something, but... I... am a really bad person, you know? There's something massively wrong with me and I can't exactly identify what it is and the worst part is that I have no qualms about doing what is wrong, which is why you should, instead... find someone el---"

"Don't you dare say that!"

Against my expectations, as I was coming out with the honest truth, Yulia let out a yell and rejected my choice of words without hesitating.

With overflowing tears on her face, endless words stuck on her throat, Yulia had a few problems continuing her sentence, and instead, she sunk her head into my chest while clinging with her two hands on my own two hands mutually.

...This, however, didn't allow me to return to my previous state, as a few tears came out in the process.

"You can't ever say that! I won't allow you to! I don't want another person! I only want you! I know I might get stubborn and obsolete with time, but... that's just because I have been through a lot and sometimes I can't help myself!"

"Yulia, it's not about you, it's about me...! I am not right for you."

"Seriously, I don't care about that! I am also not the right person for you yet here I am. No, here we are, together. So... let's stay that way, alright...?"

...That's not true, at all. If only you knew the whole truth. The whole truth that I just can't bring myself to tell you now because these new feelings of mine are blocking the passage; the transition of the truth.

"No... Yulia, you are the right person for me. You are not stubborn nor obsolete at all. I don't know how you got that wrong image of yourself, but that's just not true. You are kind, nurturing, beautiful, and really thoughtful. You have no idea how much you mean to me and that's because I have never expressed myself well enough for you to know. So, please, don't say that you aren't the right person for me. Because I won't believe you."

If only I knew earlier, I... wouldn't have committed all of those actions.

I... I have to find a way to fix that...

"If you use that argument, Daniel, then to me, you are the right person too and I won't believe otherwise! You can't make me view otherwise! That's why... please... don't go! I don't know what I will do without you. I really don't. I'm sorry for being so selfish and clingy but I am just really weak on the inside...!"

The sight of Yulia being forced to say those words about herself, for her to put herself in a weak state of mind just for having to justify her presence with me, that's...

Not how it should be. 

No.

You shouldn't have to be forced to say those words to me when you are so much more than just that...

Which is why I... will fix this situation.

I don't know if I can live up to your expectations, and I also don't know about these new feelings of mine that I just recently discovered, but... I'm willing to bet on them to the point of seeking a resolution in which you won't have to shed any more tears.

I don't want to see you cry, Yulia.

"Yulia. Can you look at me?"

Once again, I completely cleared up all my tears and formed a serious attitude. With solid vigor in my words, Yulia slowly elevated her head and looked at me in the eyes, thus I spoke.

"I won't leave you. So, let's, instead, stay together, forever. Alright? I don't mind if you are clingy or not. If you are selfish or not. Whatever comes from you, I will embrace it. That is why, I need to fix something, right now, with immense haste."

As I said those purely confident words, in the middle of my speech, I also cleared up Yulia's tears that didn't have a reason to be there anymore. So unnecessary...

I hate how you were forced to cry because of...

It's not too late. This situation can be fixed and I know how to do it.

"W-Where are you going?"

Disconnecting our bodies softly, I created some distance and started to get up from my seat.

Yulia, on the other hand, clung to my left hand thus stopping me from progressing out of here.

Nevertheless, I didn't fully mind that and replied calmly with a smile.

"Event! Can't be looking weak in front of the girl I love, you know? Not very manly of me, right? I'll be back later! I promise!"

"O-Okay! Give me a call, please!"

"Yeah, I will. By the way, Yulia..."

"...Yeah...?"

Collecting all my willpower, I placed my resolve at my highest peak yet and called out to these unknown new feelings of mine, as I looked back at Yulia while speaking perhaps my truest words yet.

"I love you."

"Yup, I love you too! Good luck! Do your best! You can do it! You got this!"

"I will."

Without looking back, I started to leave the abandoned classroom and made my way out of it.

I did lie to you about something, Yulia, however, I vow that it's the last time that I will ever lie to you, I promise.

I'm not going to an event right now. I am going to call a certain person and seek the end of this.

Also, regarding that 'I love you', I wish you'd know this but I'm too much of a coward to say it, but... I mean it, this time.

Ultimately, I called the individual in mind and he picked up instantly. Furthermore, he took the initiative to start the conversation at sight.

"Yo, Daniel. Did you do it?"

"...About that. We need to talk, Hyunda."

9:15 am. Viewpoint.

"We do? Alright, where?"

Out of nowhere, in the middle of our sacred exchange of words, Daniel decided that it was an extremely good idea to call Hyunda and my sweet, sweet loving twin soul that is seating next to me picked up his call without a second thought!

"Sure, I'll meet you there. Though, what's wrong? You don't seem yourself. What happened? What? Alright, we'll talk this out better, I'll be there as soon as I can."

...?

You can't be serious, love. 

"Um, Hyunda?"

"Sorry, I'm going to have to be absent. Keep your distance. Go do an event or something. I'll give you a call when I'm done. Don't follow me or else, you know the deal."

"Y-Yeah..."

So harsh...! Using those cold words like that...

...What am I going to do now though...? Maybe I should really do an event...

Still, I opted to ask another question, as he was opening the door of the viewpoint while attempting to exit the viewpoint.

"Hyunda, what happened? Why did Daniel call you...?"

At least give me the reason as to why you are opting to break my heart without your knowledge...

"Instability has hit the surface, thus it's my job to erase it. After all, the show must go on. I can't have a sudden happy ending like this. Talk about predictable."

Leaving the viewpoint without a trace, Hyunda simply left those mysterious words with me, as he faded out of the picture.